3 tips for building a careers site that attracts candidates

With the Great Resignation in full swing, companies are clamoring to find and secure top talent. Often, the first step to converting a candidate into a new hire is attracting them with your careers site, enough that they want to learn more about the role and apply with your company. There are other considerations (such as sourcing, networking, etc.), but for a lot of companies with limited resources, the primary applicant driver is your company’s careers site.

At UserTesting, the Talent Team uses the Human Insight Platform to collect candid feedback from our contributors and use their insights to inform how we are positioning ourselves in the candidate marketplace. Below are three critical areas of focus for your careers site that we found during our research. 

1. Be a reflection of your company’s culture 

On your careers site, you’re able to let your core values shine. As the cornerstone of your culture, often reflecting how decisions are made within the company and how successful employees conduct themselves, your careers site should embody that. 

Potential candidates are looking for values that they can connect with and that are important to them so they can be invested in the company they choose to work for. By highlighting what your company stands for, you’re able to attract candidates that more closely align with your values and your mission. Candidates whose values align are better positioned to add value from day one and have an easier time acclimating to a “day in the life” at your company. 

2. Educate potential candidates on a “day in the life”

A day in the life of an employee is an important element to display and describe for a company. On your careers page, it’s your chance to showcase what your company brings to the table. This focuses on a more personal relationship and what makes your company an attractive employer. This could take the form of highlighting specific perks your company is proud of, employee resources groups (ERGs) or social groups, and even quotes and images from current employees so candidates can see how your company treats and honors those who work for them. 

But, before you start a conversation with your brand team about adding pictures and promoting perks, it would be best to ensure that the vision of what you feel working at your company is like aligns with the reality. By soliciting employee feedback, you’re able to keep them at the center of your thought process when creating a page that represents how the company functions. If you don’t, then new hires that join will have feelings of being misled and will quickly uncover pain points, leading to a loss in trust and ultimately them leaving the company. 

3. Ensure your site is easily navigated

In order to provide a great experience when searching for a specific role, it’s essential that your careers page is easily navigated. If you’re able to pull in a potential candidate with your company culture and employee experience enough that they want to apply, but then lose them because of a confusing interface or a lengthy application process, you’re still losing out on top candidates. This is one of the places where the UserTesting platform really shines, as we were able to adjust and improve our user experience to provide an easier way for candidates to apply for open roles. 

Think of this process as getting potential buyers to move through a sales funnel. If the pathway leading them to purchase is confusing or inconvenient, you’ll most likely notice drop-off before the actual purchase takes place. Similarly, we want to make sure that a careers site is easily navigable, shares necessary information, and that the application process is streamlined; i.e. it doesn’t ask for unnecessary information that can normally be found on a candidate’s resume. 

At UserTesting, we recently went through a careers site overhaul, based on the feedback we received, and have launched our new site. Take a look! 

Final thoughts

Overall, we’ve utilized the UserTesting platform as a solution to ensure that we’re removing barriers for potential candidates who are interested in learning more about our company and the roles we offer. Through this proactive approach, we’ve been able to support inclusion efforts and give a more accurate snapshot of what working at UserTesting looks like. 

Additional resources for people teams:

• How to update your job postings to attract top talent
• 4 pitfalls of employee surveys you can test and avoid with feedback